Actor Anne Hathaway shot to stardom after her role in the successful Princess Diaries movies. But when auditioning her love interests for one of the films, she had to be intimate with several different actors.
It was a task Hathaway didn’t take a liking to.
How Anne Hathaway was cast in ‘The Princess Diaries’
Hathaway was hired for her iconic role in The Princess Diaries through conventional means. She auditioned for the character on a whim while working on another project.
“I was on the way to New Zealand doing an independent film called The Other Side of Heaven,” she once said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “And I had 26 hours in Los Angeles and I said, ‘Hey, let’s do some auditions while I’m out here. Y’know, why not?’”
Hathaway was immediately met with a little pushback, as she was considered a bit older than the age of the character. But she persisted, and her persistence eventually paid off.
“I got the audition, and I got the call that night saying, ‘They want you to screentest.’ And I said, ‘That’s fantastic. I’m going to New Zealand tomorrow, I’m gonna be 6,000 miles away. How do we do this?’ So, luckily [Princess Diaries director Gary Marshall] believed in my audition enough to give the audition tape to Disney along with the other girls who got the full-screen test. Disney liked it, and I got it,” she shared.
Anne Hathaway was put off by having to kiss so many actors during auditions for ‘The Princess Diaries’
A search was underway for Hathaway’s love interest in Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. But perhaps one of the more challenging experiences the Ella Enchanted star faced while developing the movie were the auditions for her male co-star. If only because Hathaway found it odd having to be physically affectionate towards so many actors.
In a 2004 interview with the LA Times, Hathaway asserted she would’ve been fine testing alongside only a couple of guys. But the film’s director had other plans.
“He decided to test a dozen,” she revealed. “And I’m not that kind of girl! Don’t get me wrong, I love kissing, but the idea of having to kiss 12 different people that I’ve just met in one 10-hour period of time is a little much for me.”
How Garry Marshall and ‘The Princess Dairies’ changed Anne Hathaway’s life
Hathaway once gave a lot of credit to the late filmmaker Garry Marshall for her career. The Happy Days director, not only gave her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but also helped grow her performance.
“I had no idea what I was doing. I was just doing my best,” Hathaway once said on The Happy Days of Garry Marshall ABC special (via Vulture). “And Garry really crafted that performance to be the best it possibly could be. And that’s how I was introduced to the world. The Princess Diaries changed my life.”
Marshall also taught Hathaway how to navigate in the movie business while still maintaining integrity.
“He went out of his way to make sure that I knew why it was important to be a good person in this business. I realize that in situations when you go onto sets and things are stressful and people are freaked out and people are fighting, you can still bring the joy, ‘cause Garry taught me how to bring the joy,” she added.
